The 2013 Lingnan International Advisory Board Meeting was held and Guangdong Executive Vice Governor Xu Shaohua met with Lingnan International Advisory Board Members

On November 8th, 2013, the International Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting of Lingnan (University) College was held at Lingnan MBA Building, Sun Yat-sen University. This is the second meeting since the IAB was established. On November 7th, Mr. Xu Shaohua, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Executive Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, met with Lingnan International Advisory Board Members led by Prof. Liu Mingkang, Honorary Dean of Lingnan College. The two parties exchanged opinions on speeding up the transformation of Guangdong's economic growth mode, and ecological and environmental protection including carbon emission trading. Prof. Li Ping, Deputy Secretary of SYSU Party Committee, attended the meeting.

Executive Vice Governor Xu Shaohua meeting with IAB Members

Executive Vice Governor Xu Shaohua extended his warm welcome to all the Members and gave an introduction of Guangdong's economic development, its main economic barometers and the opportunities and challenges for Guangdong's economic growth. He said that Guangdong's economic and social development is now at the critical stage for transformation and upgrading, and it is faced with the challenges to maintain its leading position in economic growth nationwide, to integrate itself into the world economy, to expand trade in services and to preserve ecological environment. And he expressed his hope that Sun Yat-sen University and other universities across Guangdong can make a difference in these areas by contributing more basic theoretical researches and more practical skills and talents to the sustainable development and competitiveness of Guangdong Province.

The IAB Members exchanged opinions and shared suggestions on the cooperation with Guangdong in the fields of carbon emission trading, aviation development, rail transit, service trading, financial support, etc. They wished to provide more intellectual support for the transformation and upgrading of Guangdong's economic development by working with universities and bringing together the scientific research strength in different disciplines and the enterprises inside and outside Guangdong. Meanwhile, they hoped that the government can provide more support in talent introduction and cultivation.

Group photo

Prof. Carl P. Zeithaml, Dean of McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia, acted as Board Chair and chaired the meeting. At the meeting, Prof. Liu Mingkang, Honorary Dean of Lingnan College, gave an introduction of the 2nd Lingnan Forum and its progress, and envisioned the future for Lingnan Forum. Afterwards, Prof. Xu Xinzhong, Dean of Lingnan College, presented to the IAB Members on Lingnan’s developments since 2012 and its main strategic goals, strategies for faculty recruitment, globalization and branding. Prof. Xu Xinzhong stated that Lingnan would continue to strengthen its faculty development in the future, particularly bringing in senior professors, as well as program construction, brand promotion and corporate partnership.

The meeting continued with the presentations by Dean Xu Xinzhong and Associate Dean Zhang Yanmei on Master's Program and Corporate Connections respectively, which engaged IAB Members in heated discussions. The Members stressed that Lingnan should put priority on reinforcing its branding and improving students' quality.

During the discussion, Mr. Juan Rodriguez Inciarte, Executive Board Member of Groupo Santander, suggested that Lingnan should actively explore the education on entrepreneurship. Situated in Guangdong, Lingnan should make use of this location advantage to become a base for fostering entrepreneurship, which is essential for economic success. Moreover, Michael Cave, Senior Vice President of the Boeing Company and President of Boeing Capital Corporation, pointed out that alumni is a great asset and a successful business school grows and builds its brand on the shoulders of alumni. To have such a large population of alumni nearby would make it easy for them to stay engaged in some activities like mentorship, internship opportunities, etc. In return, alumni would build reputation for the school and allow it to grow. Through the discussion, the IAB Members learnt more about Lingnan and they stressed that Lingnan should carry on building its brand, improving students' quality, and maintaining relations with the corporates.

After the meeting, the IAB Members had lunch with Lingnan's student representatives.

The International Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting of Lingnan (University) College, Sun Yat-sen University was established in 2012, consisting of eighteen eminent global business and academic leaders from leading multinational corporations and business schools.

Fourteen members and representatives attended the 2013 International Advisory Board Meeting, including Stuart T Gulliver, Group Chief Executive of HSBC Holdings plc; Michael J Cave, Senior Vice President of The Boeing Company and President of Boeing Capital Corporation; Raymond K.F. Ch'ien, Chairman of MTR Corporation Limited and Hang Seng Bank Limited; Gerard Hartsink, Independent Chairman of CLS Group Holdings and CLS Bank International; Juan Rodriguez Inciarte, Executive Board Member of Grupo Santander; Neville Power, Chief Executive Officer of Fortescue Metals Group Limited; Charles Dallara, Partner, Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Americas of Partners Group Holding; Koh Beng Seng, Chief Executive Officer of Octagon Advisors Pte Ltd.; Patrick Low, Vice President of Research and Senior Fellow of Fung Global Institute; Benjamin Hung Pi Cheng, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited; Patrick de Courcy, Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Markets & Initiatives of Asia Pacific, SWIFT; Carl P. Zeithaml, Dean of McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia; Yasheng Huang, Associate Dean of MIT Sloan School of Management; and Annie Wu, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and Vice Chairman of Beijing Air Catering Co., Ltd..